The palladium-catalyzed reductive cleavage of alkyl aryl sulfides to afford the corresponding arenes in high yield, which is both accelerated and exhibits increased functional group selectivity in the presence of TMSCI, is described. This ligand-free reaction features mild conditions, easy operation, use of readily available reagents, and high functional group selectivity. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Organocatalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Sulfoxides from Sulfenic Acid Anions Mediated by a <i>Cinchona</i>-Derived Phase-Transfer Reagent
Preliminary results concerning a conceptually novel route to chiral sulfoxides based on the asymmetric alkylation of sulfenate salts with alkyl halides mediated by a chiral phase-transfer catalyst are described. As a representative example, o-anisyl methyl sulfoxide was produced in 96% yield and with an enantiomeric excess of 58% using commercial cinchonidinium derivative 2a.